Ice over the Black Lake
by StrawberryFreckles
Summary: Erynn Deriminikii, a 4th year Ravenclaw, is suddenly under the Imperius Curse and forced to jump into the Black Lake. Two problems: She can't swim, and it's frozen over with Christmas frost.


**The students who attend Hogwarts after Harry Potter killed the Dark Lord, Voldemort, 19 years later. **

Erynn sat in the Ravenclaw dorm, slouching in a huge comfortable chair. She stared absentmindedly at the large fireplace, the flames dancing. She was alone; it was the Christmas holiday at Hogwarts, and she was staying there.  
Her parents sent her a letter saying that it was best if she didn't return home for the holidays. She remembered how crushed she was, staring at the letter, and crumpling up the letter and throwing into the fireplace. She had watched the flames lick at the parchment, making it curl and brown in the heat. Erynn snapped into conscienceness as she involintarily got to her feet. She felt a weird tingling all over her body, and she realized she had no control over her body. She tried to call to Marie, her best friend, but her mouth was clamped shut. Panic seized her as she remembered what her Defense Against the Dark Arts proffessor had said about the spell, Imperio. _Causes the victim of the curse to obey the spoken or unspoken commands of the caster_, she heard her proffesor say. They also said that it was sweet release from responsibility, but in return for the victim's free will. Erynn felt no "sweet release", she only felt panic and confusion. Whoever the caster was of the spell, what were they going to make her do? Steal from the kitchen? Insult teachers or her friends? "_Marie_," Erynn thought. "_She wouldn't know I that I'm under the Imperius Curse_!" She felt herself walking towards the dorm exit, and slight relief came over her. "_They aren't taking me to Marie_."  
When she stepped out of the Ravenclaw dormitory, she saw a group of boys laughing across the hall. They were looking at her, one of them holding a wand. Erynn realized that this was some kind of joke to them. She wanted to yell at them, "Lift the curse! This isn't funny, you dunderheads, let me go!" Her legs walked past the snickering boys, and she recongized them as the school pranksters. Rage reddened her fast, and she knew they could tell. They only laughed harder.  
One of them, the one holding the wand, said, "Ready for a dip, Muggleborn?" She pailed. There was a rumor going around that a Muggleborn student was atteneding Hogwarts this year. And Erynn knew it was true, because she knew excactly who it was.  
Her parents were the Muggles. Another fact about her that not many people knew was that she couldn't swim. The boys had found out both. Inwardly, she groaned, "I'm doomed!"

Erynn continued to walk down the halls. She walked past very few students; a couple of Slytherin boys, one waved as she recongnized him as Jake, her friend Melaine's twin. She felt awful that she didn't wave back.  
She also walked past some fellow Ravenclaws, but they simply smiled at her. Erynn fought hard enough to get at least a tiny smile in return. With each step, her dread grew stronger and stronger. As she rounded a corner, she ran into her Herbology teacher, Proffessor Longbottom. He smiled down at her, a kind light in his eyes. "Good afternoon, Miss Deriminikii. I thought you would be returning home for the holidays." Erynn was surprised to find her voice back. The boys must've slackened the spell slightly so she could talk to her proffesor. SHe stammered, "M-my parents didn't want me to-" She gulped. "-to come home." Proffesor Longbottom's face fell. He looked her over. "Erynn," he said softly. "Do you want to come to my office and have some tea? You don't look so well." Erynn lost her voice again, but she heard herself say, "I can't sir. I have to meet someone outside." A tear slid down her cheek; she was lying involintarily to her favorite teacher. Proffessor Longbottom sighed, then said, "Alright, but you know where to find me." He rested a hand on her shoulder, then walked past her down the hall. Erynn walked down the remainder of the hall and passed Collin, a Hufflepuff. She blushed; she liked Collin alot, and she could tell he liked her a bit, too. He smiled, and stopped. "Hey, Erynn! Where you off to?" SHe heard herself say, "The lake." Erynn brightened slightly. He knew she couldn't swim, and he also knew the group of troublemakers. Erynn didn't stop walking, and Collin started walking next to her. He looked at her increduously. "No way. You might fall in, it's icy on the dock." Erynn shrugged. Collin started to run backwards. "You do know you can't swim, right?" He was trying to be funny, she could tell, but there was a slight worry in his gaze. Erynn kept walking. "I don't care." she said.  
As they walked on the school grounds, snow fell softly on Erynn's bare skin. She couldn't stop from shivering. Collin was still trying to convince her not to go to the Black Lake. Soon they reached the edge of the docks. "Blimey, Erynn," Collin's teeth chattered. "I'm not kidding now, don't go on the docks. You could slip." Erynn turned around and looked at him, and snapped, "Mind your own business!" Her heart plummetted. She wanted to take it all back when she saw Collin's face. She would've never said that to him! He knew that, right? Over his shoulder, she saw the group of boys walking there way. They were still laughing. When they got close enough, the one with the wand said sarcastically, "Yeah, Erynn, you could hurt yourself!" The other boys yelled with laughter. Erynn felt her face redden again. Collin whipped around, and saw that the main boy was holding his wand out. Two and two met and Collin fumed. Right before he could snatch away the wand, which would automatically break the spell, the boy flicked his wrist and the next thing Erynn knew, the ice cracked and she was floundering to stay afloat. With a wail of terror, she was under, extremely cold water surrounding her, dragging her down, filling her mouth, eyes, ears, and nose. Terror gripped her heart as she frantically groped for the surface. Her lungs pleaded for oxygen, and Erynn fought the urge to inhale the water. She looked longingly at the surface, and suddenly she saw a figure jump through the large hole in the ice. She struggled to make out who it was, because black dots were suddenly clouding her vision, but she felt them grab her hands and pull her up from the depths of the black water. She felt herself get dragged onto the dock, and she lay there, eyes closed, fighting for breath. She couldn't fell her fingers or toes, and she thought she was dieing. After awhile, Erynn was gentley lifted off the ground, and she assumed she was dead now. Her eyes fluttered open, and she saw a hazy shape against the light grey sky above.  
She squinted, her head throbbing, trying to focus on who was carrying her. They were shivering and wet. Erynn realized this was the person who dragged her out of the BLack Lake. She wasn't dead. The figure came into focus and she recongnized the person as Collin. She opened her mouth to speak, but she entered a fit of coughing instead. Collin wobbled up to the castle, holding her close. Someone from Gryffindor spotted them and ran to get help. Madam Pomfrey came and bustled them up to the hospital wing.

When Erynn awoke, Marie, Melaine, Chesire and Erica were sitting on either side of her bed. Bryarthorn, her trustworthy cat, curled up on her lap. Chesire grinned hugely. "Hey, the mermaid's coming to!" Melaine flicked her nose, but gave Erynn a half smile. Marie was going on and on at how "that wretched boy signed his expulsion papers and the other boys were suspened for the rest of the semester!" Erynn looked at the end of her table and there were tiny bunches of flowers. There was a beautiful single rose. It was snow white, and it had dark blue rims with amber flecks lightly spattered across the petals. There was a tiny piece of parchment that had neat, tight handwriting. It said, "Meet me in my office for some tea as soon as you can." Erynn knew who it was, and she smiled.  
Then her face fell. She turned to her friends, nervously fingering Bryarthorn's long black fur. She said with a rasping voice, "Wh-where's Collin?" There was a short pause, and then there was a croaked "Over here" from behind Erica and Marie. Erynn craned her neck so she could see him, but her muscles were sore and pain throbbed throughout her head area. Marie and Erica scooted away, but it didn't make much diiference because Madam Pomfrey shooed them out of the hospital wing for her to rest. Erynn closed her eyes, pretending to fall asleep, but when she heard Madam Pomfrey's footsteps fade away down the hallway, her eyes flew open and she turned to the bed next to her. Collin was looking at her through milky eyes, and he was shivering and pale, bu there was a smile as warm as the sun on his face. Erynn felt her heart twist. "You look worse than me," she rasped. Collin managed a hoarse chuckle. "How is that possible? I was in the wretched lake longer than you were." Collin shook his head slowly. He coughed, but then said in an unrecongnizable voice, "Not true. When I pulled you out onto the dock, I wasn't completely out of the water." His eyes darkened. "The Grindilows got me before I could get out." With shaking hands, he pulled the sheets covering him down slightly. There were squid-like prints along his arms and neck. Erynn felt awful, and not because she had nearly drowned yesterday. But because Collin had suffered because of her. For her. Her eyes stung, and she sniffed. "Collin, you saved me..." she whispered. "I can never repay you, not fully."  
He shrugged, then winced. "I can live with that." Erynn half laughed, half sobbed. Suddenly, Madam Pomfrey appeared at the entrance to the hospital wing, her hands on her hips. "I don't hear resting!" she scolded. Erynn gasped, then quickly shut her eyes and rested her head on her pillow. She heard Madam Pomfrey harumph and walk off, the risked opening one eye to peek at Collin. She saw him wink at her, and bliss washed over her as she drifted into the depths of undisturbed sleep.


End file.
